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Surabhi Lakshmi has come under attack from Hindutva groups for eating beef.

She was seen eating beef during a TV programme that was telecast on Onam.

Sangh activists are bullying the actress through social media.

Surabhi Lakshmi/Facebook

HIGHLIGHTS

Surabhi Lakshmi has come under attack from Hindutva groups for eating beef.

She was seen eating beef during a TV programme that was telecast on Onam.

Sangh activists are bullying the actress through social media.

National award winning Malayalam actress Surabhi Lakshmi has come under attack from right-wing Hindutva groups for eating beef during an Onam programme. The actress featured in a special Onam programme on Malayalam channel Media One. In the programme which was telecast on the Thiruvonam day, the actress was seen eating beef curry.

The programme was conceived as Surabhi's day out. In the programme, Surabhi relives her memories of her brother's hotel, one of her favourite hang out destinations in the village. During the course of the programme Surabhi tastes her favourite dish beef fry with Kerala parantha.

This did not go down well with right-wing forces who have unleashed a wave of criticism on the actress through social media platforms. The Sangh activists feels that Surabhi's act was inappropriate during the Onam festival. Some Facebook groups have even called for a boycott of the actress.

Responding to the social media outrage, Surabhi Lakshmi told India Today that the interview was taken 3 weeks ago."The channel has been asking for my interview for quite some time and that's when I agreed to do that programme in a hotel which I usually visit. Hunger is a basic instinct of life and when I'm hungry I don't usually care if it's beef, chicken or pork. The issue is not that I ate beef, but that the programme was telecast during Onam," Lakshmi said.

Along with the actress, the Malayalam news channel Media One has come under the scanner. Sangh activists who have been posting derogatory comments against the channel allege that the channel has done this purposefully to hurt the religious sentiments of a group. Dawood, Managing Editor of the news channel, however is not taking these attacks seriously.

"Their reaction to an actress eating beef on a TV channel shows their conservative culture," he added.

Malabar region of Kerala is well known for its mouth watering non-veg cuisine. Unlike in other parts of Kerala, these varieties form an integral part of many families' diet even during festival seasons.